Running Pill Mill That
Provided Unlawful Prescriptions for Millions of Doses of Opioids and
Other Controlled Substances

A
Houston physician and the owner of a pain management clinic were each
sentenced to 420 months in prison today for their roles in running a
pill mill that provided tens of thousands of unlawful prescriptions for
millions of doses of opioids and other controlled substances.

Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice
Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Ryan Patrick of the
Southern District of Texas and Special Agent in Charge Will R. Glaspy of
the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Houston Field Office
made the announcement.

Gazelle Craig D.O., 42, and Shane Faithful, 49, both of Houston,
Texas, were sentenced by U.S. District Judge David Hittner of the
Southern District of Texas. Craig and Faithful were convicted at trial
in March 2018 of one count of conspiracy to unlawfully distribute
controlled substances and three counts of unlawfully distributing and
dispensing controlled substances. The defendants were charged in an
indictment returned on July 6, 2017.

“Today’s sentences should serve as a stark warning to any medical
professional considering exploiting the opioid crisis for profit: you
will be caught, you will be prosecuted, and you will pay a steep price
for abusing your prescription power for personal gain,” said Assistant
Attorney General Benczkowski. “In the midst of the deadliest drug
crisis in our country’s history, Gazelle Craig and Shane Faithful sold
millions of opioids and endangered the safety of an untold number of
Americans. We should all be proud of the hard work being done by DEA’s
Tactical Diversion Squad and the prosecutors in the Department of
Justice’s Fraud Section.”

“Dr. Craig, along with clinic owner Shane Faithful, used their
position of trust to illegally distribute over 2 million dosage units of
hydrocodone into local communities across Houston,” said DEA Special
Agent in Charge Glaspy. “It is this kind of illegal distribution of
prescription drugs that feed the opioid epidemic and destroys families.
The sentencing of Dr. Craig and Mr. Faithful is a victory for our
communities while at the same time making a nationwide statement that
the DEA and DOJ will not tolerate this type of illegal activity.”

According to evidence presented at trial, from March 2015 through
July 2017, Craig and Faithful ran Gulfton Community Health Center
(Gulfton), which operated as an illegal pill mill. The evidence showed
that Craig unlawfully wrote approximately 18,252 prescriptions for over
2.1 million dosage units of hydrocodone, a Schedule II controlled
substance, and approximately 15,649 prescriptions for over 1.3 million
dosage units of carisporodal, a Schedule IV controlled substance. The
combination of hydrocodone and carisoprodol is a dangerous drug cocktail
with no known medical benefit, the evidence showed.

Craig regularly issued unlawful prescriptions for controlled
substances to more than 60 patients a day, the evidence showed. “Crew
leaders” ferried numerous patients to Gulfton so that Craig could
provide them with unlawful prescriptions for controlled substances.
Faithful and Craig charged approximately $300 for each prescription and
required payment in cash. The defendants divided each day’s cash
proceeds, often in excess of $15,000, from the sale of the unlawful
prescriptions.

This case was investigated by the DEA. Trial Attorneys Scott
Armstrong and Devon Helfmeyer of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section
are prosecuting the case.

The Fraud Section leads the Medicare Fraud Strike Force. Since its
inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating
in 12 cities across the country, has charged nearly 4,000 defendants who
have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $14
billion. In addition, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
(HHS) Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in
conjunction with the HHS Office of Inspector General, are taking steps
to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent
providers.